1. Office furniture industry chain
The research and development manufacturing industry of office furniture is in the middle of the industry chain. The upstream industries include hardware, leather, cloth, sponge, wood, plastic, electronic and electrical components, etc., among which electronic and electrical components are raw materials for electric office chairs and electric office desks. The upstream raw material manufacturing industry belongs to fully competitive industries, with a large number of suppliers and sufficient raw material supply. Enterprises with large business scale have strong bargaining power. Participants in the downstream industry include importers, distributors, customers/enterprises, and consumers.
From the perspective of the midstream office tool product structure, the current global office furniture market share of office desks and office chairs has reached 75%, and the market share of bookcases and other office furniture is 25%. Domestic office chairs account for the largest share of the entire office furniture market, about 31%; followed by system furniture, accounting for about 29%; filing cabinets and office desks account for 10% or more; lockers account for about 7%.
2. Analysis of the current status of the office furniture industry
The market demand for office furniture is highly correlated with the level of economic development. In recent years, the global office furniture market has shown a fluctuating downward trend. Data shows that the global office furniture industry market size will be about US$105.97 billion in 2022, a year-on-year decrease of 1.4%. In terms of regional distribution, due to the rapid concentration of global economic development in developed countries, the United States has become the world's largest office furniture market and also the most mature market. At present, the office furniture market in North America accounts for 35.4% of the global market, followed by Asia Pacific, accounting for 29.3%, and the market size in Europe accounts for 27%.
In terms of domestic market size, according to statistics, the market size of China's office furniture industry in 2022 is about 122.49 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 2.5%. With the recovery of global office furniture market consumption, market space and order volume are expected to continue to increase. As the largest office furniture production capacity and exporter, my country is much larger than other developing countries. The inflow of orders will strengthen the synergy of the industrial chain and scale advantages. At present, the domestic office furniture manufacturing industry has formed obvious regional characteristics. my country's furniture industry clusters are divided into five major office furniture industry clusters:
- the Pearl River Delta furniture industry cluster area (Guangdong, Fujian)
- the Yangtze River Delta furniture industry cluster area (Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shanghai)
- the Bohai Rim furniture industry cluster area (Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shandong)
- the Northeast furniture industry cluster area (Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang)
- the Midwest furniture industry cluster area (Henan, Sichuan, Chongqing)
In terms of import and export, my country is the world's largest office furniture producer and exporter, with exports far exceeding imports. According to Chinese customs data, China's office furniture exports in 2022 will be 196,000 pieces, with an export value of US$374.6 billion, of which the United States, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and Australia are the top five destinations for China's office tool exports.
According to Hengzhou Chengsi Research and Statistics, the global office furniture market size in 2021 is about 459.81 billion yuan, and the annual compound growth rate (CAGR) from 2017 to 2021 is about %. It is expected to continue to maintain a steady growth trend in the future. By 2028, the market size will be close to 543.9 billion yuan, with a CAGR of 2.4% in the next six years.
The main global office furniture manufacturers include Steelcase, Herman Miller, Haworth and HNI Corporation.
Currently, North America is the world's largest office furniture market, accounting for about 50% of the market share, followed by Europe and the Asia-Pacific market, which together account for nearly 40% of the market share.
3. Competition in the office furniture industry
From the perspective of market competition, due to the extremely low entry threshold, domestic office furniture companies are scattered, and the innovation ability of enterprises is poor, and the profit is low, it is difficult to form large-scale enterprises and leading enterprises. However, during the epidemic, the industry integration accelerated, and a number of key and well-known office furniture manufacturers and brands were gradually formed in China, such as: Lamex, Lizhi, Youbi, Aurora, Sanjiu, Changjiang, Huali, Huaya, Chengfeng, Jianwei, Keyu, Oushen, Bailang, Nanyang, Rongfeng, Guojing, Zhongtai and Chunguang, etc.; at the same time, there are also a number of companies that produce both office and civilian furniture, such as: Federal, Tiantan and Cathay, etc.; some relatively concentrated office furniture production bases are also gradually formed in the competition, such as: Shunde and Dongguan in Guangdong, Shanghai and Hangzhou and Anji in Zhejiang, etc. These companies and regions will work with other companies to build a new structure of Chinese office furniture manufacturers in future competition.
4. Future development trend of office furniture industry
With the development of China's economic construction, the office conditions of government agencies have improved, and banks, securities, schools, hospitals, enterprises and institutions have continued to expand, which will continue to promote the stability of office furniture demand. At the same time, with the construction of modern office buildings, the original office space needs a large supply of office furniture, which will drive the demand for office furniture. Now the entire office furniture market is constantly moving forward with a professional development trend, and with the consultation of all parties, it has become more professional and has clearer development goals. Under the background of the country's green development concept for the furniture industry and the era of Industry 4.0, office furniture with unique design and technology, green environmental protection, intelligent manufacturing, and intelligent office has become an opportunity for the transformation and upgrading of the industry. The future development trends of the industry are as follows:
- 1. Differentiated operation. Due to the wide variety of office furniture products and styles, patents are difficult to be truly protected. Every year, numerous international and domestic furniture exhibitions have become a paradise for imitation within the industry. New products developed by enterprises at great expense are often easily imitated by other enterprises. Whether the value of developing new products is still worthwhile, the homogeneity of market products makes many enterprises worried. Office furniture with the same color, style, material and price is often difficult to choose. Differentiated production and operation will be the inevitable trend of the future development of the office furniture industry.
- 2. Intelligent office furniture. With the continuous development of Internet of Things technology, office furniture will become more intelligent. Tables, chairs and other furniture can be equipped with sensors and connected devices to automatically adjust the height, temperature, lighting and seat comfort to meet personalized needs. In the future, intelligent desktops will be equipped with screens, touch screens and video conferencing functions, making it easier for employees to collaborate remotely.
- 3. Personalized customization services. Customize office furniture according to the personalized needs of consumers. Personalized customization includes not only the appearance of furniture, but also the choice of materials and colors, different functions and configurations, from the comfort of the chair to the height of the desktop can be adjusted according to personal preferences. And 3D printing technology minimizes the limitations of mass production, making customization more affordable.
